View source for John Chandos

{{Short description|English knight}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{other people}}
[[File:Chandos 1430.jpg|Sir John Chandos from the [[Bruges Garter Book]] (1430/1440, BL Stowe 59).|right|thumb|200px]]
[[File:The death of Sir John Chandos at Lussac.jpg|thumb|200px|The death of Sir John Chandos at Lussac (illustration from around 1410).]]
[[File:Coat of Arms of Sir John Chandos, KG.png|200px|thumb|Arms of Sir John Chandos, KG, as illustrated on his [[Garter stall plate]] (around 1421) in [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]] – '''''Or, a pile gules.''''' which is blazoned throughout.]]
[[File:Blason Jean Chandos.svg|thumb|right|200px|Chandos arms (as described in seven sources<ref>Froissart describes Chandos's arms thus: 'Si estoit la banniere Monseigneur Jehan Camdos: d'argent a un pel aguiset de gueulles' (''Oeuvres de Froissart'', ed. Kervyn de Lettenhove, VII, p. 196). There are also three English rolls of arms with painted shields: Antiquaries Roll (c.1360) AN 95 'John Chandos', County Roll (temp Ric II) CY 100, CY 399 'S' John Chandos, of Staffs', and Collins's Roll II (15c.) Q II 545 'Sir John Chandos' (cited in T. Woodcock - S. Flower (edd.), ''Dictionary of British Arms'', IV, London, 2014, p. 297). In addition, given Sir John's international fame, there are similar entries in three continental rolls, Armorial du héraut Navarre (c. 1368-1375) NAV 1481 'M Jehan Chandos', Urfé Roll (ca. 1381) URF 211 'Messire Jehan Cando, d argent a j pel de gueules esguisie', and [[Armorial Gelre]] (ca. 1385) GEL 632 'H' Jan Sandoys' (cited in s.v. 'chandos 1', in S. Clemmensen, ''Ordinary of Medieval Armorials'', CD-ROM, rev. edn., Copenhagen, 2013). Two of these sources date from Sir John's lifetime.</ref>): '''''D'argent, à la pile de gueules.''''']]
'''Sir John Chandos''', [[Viscount]] of [[Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte|Saint-Sauveur]] in the [[Cotentin Peninsula|Cotentin]], [[Constable]] of [[Aquitaine]], [[Seneschal]] of [[Count of Poitiers|Poitou]], {{postnominals|country=GBR|KG}} (c. 1320 – 31 December 1369) was a medieval English [[knight]] who hailed from [[Radbourne Hall]], Derbyshire. Chandos was a close friend of [[Edward the Black Prince]] and a founding member and 19th Knight of the [[Order of the Garter]] in 1348. Chandos was a [[gentleman]] by birth, but unlike most commanders of the day he held no inherited title of [[nobility]].

Described by the medieval historian [[Jean Froissart|Froissart]] as "wise and full of devices", as a military strategist Chandos is believed to have been the mastermind behind three of the most  important English victories of the [[Hundred Years War]]: the [[Battle of Crécy]], the [[Battle of Poitiers]] and the [[Battle of Auray]]. His death in a minor skirmish was regretted by both sides.

==Origins==
Born to an obscure family of [[landed gentry]], Chandos was the son and heir of Sir Edward Chandos, the [[lord of the manor]] of [[Radbourne, Derbyshire]].<ref>[[Bernard Burke]], ''A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland'' Part II (1863), pp. 1205-07</ref> Inevitably, he trained in the arts of war and distinguished himself as a young [[knight]].

==Military career==
According to the chronicles of [[Henry Knighton]], on the eve of the [[Battle of Sluys]],  [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] anchored his fleet at [[Blankenberge]] and  sent ashore Chandos with [[Reginald de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham|Sir Reginald Cobham]] and Sir Stephen Lambkin to reconnoitre the French fleet. They found that the enemy vessels were ranged in three compact lines and included the captured English [[Prize (law)|prize]], the great cog ''Christopher''; the ships were crammed together tightly and anchored at the entrance of the [[Zwin]] (also: Zwyn) channel.<ref>Knighton (1995) p. 29</ref>

Chandos was a leading figure at the [[Battle of Crécy]]. As Chief of Staff to Edward, the Black Prince, he designed the strategy that won victory at the [[Battle of Poitiers]] in 1356.

In 1360, Chandos was created a knight banneret, which allowed him to hold a banner in battle. This came of being made the Viscount of Saint-Sauveur by Edward III.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Calendar of the Patent Rolls: Edward III, Volume XI, A.D. 1358-1361|last=Public Records Office (ed. & trans.)|publisher=PRO|year=1911|location=London|pages=329}}</ref> This is contrary to the Life of the Black Prince, written by the Herald of John Chandos which suggested that Chandos was made a banneret immediately before the Battle of Najera in 1367.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Life of the Black Prince, by the Herald of Sir John Chandos|last=M. Pope & E. Lodge (ed. & trans.)|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1910|location=Oxford|pages=161}}</ref> Nevertheless, on that occasion, Edward, the Black Prince of Wales, and Aquitaine at that time, merely unfurled the banner for Chandos as a mark of respect.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Life of the Black Prince, by the Herald of Sir John Chandos|last=M. Pope & E. Lodge (ed. & trans.)|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1910|location=Oxford|pages=213}}</ref>

On 29 September 1364, Chandos led the forces of Duke [[John IV, Duke of Brittany|John de Montfort]] to victory at the Battle of Auray, winning the [[Breton War of Succession]] and enabling de Montfort to become John IV, Duke of Brittany.

In reward for his service, Chandos was created the lieutenant of France, the vice-chamberlain of England and was given the viscounty of [[Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte|Saint-Sauveur]] in the [[Cotentin Peninsula|Cotentin]]. During the [[Hundred Years' War]], he became [[constable]] of [[Aquitaine]]. Later, however, after disagreeing with Edward over how the [[Guyennois]] should be taxed, he retired to his property in [[Normandy]].

===Death===
In 1369, the French launched a successful counterattack, regaining much territory and forcing Edward to recall Chandos, who was appointed [[seneschal]] of [[Poitou]] and settled in [[Poitiers]]. Sir John attempted to deal with the French attempts to regain a foothold in the province. The Bretons John Kerlouët and Louis de Saint Julien Trimouille, lord of Lusignan, had occupied [[La Roche-Posay]] and [[Saint-Savin, Vienne|Saint-Savin]], a few kilometres from Poitiers. Chandos decided to retake the abbey of Saint-Savin, with a surprise attack under cover of night.

The planned attack failed when, thinking they had been detected by the enemy, Chandos' force retreated towards the bridge across the [[Vienne (river)|Vienne]] at [[Lussac-les-Châteaux]], along the route to Poitiers through [[Chauvigny]]. The French, actually unaware of their presence, had decided to follow the same route to harass any English troops. The adversaries met at the bridge of Lussac. In the battle, Chandos' long coat made him slip on the frost. James de Saint-Martin, a squire in the house of Sir Bagnac (or [[Guillaume Boitel]], according to Paul Hay du Chastelet) struck Chandos with his lance, piercing his face below the eye. Chandos' uncle Edward Twyford, standing over his wounded nephew, repulsed the attackers. One of his squires pierced both legs of James Saint-Martin with his sword; Saint-Martin died three days later at Poitiers. John Chandos was carried on a large shield to Morthemer, the nearest English fortress.<ref name = "froi">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/MUHLBERGER/FROISSART/chandos2.htm |title=Froissart, the death of John Chandos |access-date=4 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813064721/http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/muhlberger/froissart/chandos2.htm |archive-date=13 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  He died in the night, either on 31 December or the early hours of 1 January 1370, after a day and night of agony, at the age of around 50.

==Legacy==
When the news of Sir John's death reached the court of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] in England, and that of the [[Black Prince]] at [[Guyenne]], they were greatly upset. Chandos was not only a great warrior but also an able administrator and a wise politician.

A cenotaph  of John Chandos was erected shortly after his death by the English authorities to commemorate the spot where he fell. The cenotaph is still maintained and visible in a garden along the street Jean Chandos at a place called "Les Aubeniaux" (commune of [[Mazerolles, Vienne|Mazerolles]] ([[Vienne (department)|Vienne]] department). At the end of the 19th century, the local society of history moved it some metres away from the bank of the [[Vienne (river)|Vienne]] because of the river's recurrent flooding.

His death was mourned on both sides. In his book ''A Brief History of The Hundred Years' War'', Desmond Seward states that [[Charles V of France]] ("Charles the Wise") is reported to have said that "had Chandos lived, he would have found a way of making a lasting peace". [[Jean Froissart|Froissart]] is more circumspect, but says that "I have heard him at the time regretted by renowned knights in France; for they said it was a great pity he was slain, and that, if he could have been taken prisoner, he was so wise and full of devices, he would have found some means of establishing a peace between France and England". He also stated of Chandos that "never since a hundred years did there exist among the English one more courteous, nor fuller of every virtue and good quality than him."<ref name = "froi"/>

==Chandos Herald==
John Chandos' [[herald]], known as [[Chandos Herald]], wrote a significant poem entitled, ''The Life of the Black Prince''. The poem details many of the Prince's exploits in the [[Hundred Years' War]], including the [[Castilian Civil War|Castilian civil war]], the [[battle of Crecy]], and the [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|battle of Poitiers]] (though these last two only briefly).<ref>[[Richard Barber]], ''Life and Campaigns of the Black Prince'' (1979, reprint 1986) pp.84</ref>

==Cultural influence==
{{Unsourced section|date=March 2025}}
John Chandos is one of the characters in [[Arthur Conan Doyle's]] historical novel ''[[The White Company]]'' (1892) and in his later novel ''[[Sir Nigel]]''.

He appears as a character in 
the ''[[Dragon Knight (novel series)|Dragon Knight]]'' series of novels by [[Gordon R. Dickson]] as a protagonist of Baron Sir James Eckert.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist}}

==References==
* Histoire de Messire Bertrand du Guesclin by Paul Hay du Chastelet (1666)
* Desmond Seward, ''A Brief History of The Hundred Years' War'', London: Robinson, 2003 ({{ISBN|1-84119-678-9}})
* Einloft Neto, Herculano de Lima, ''Considerations on the origin of the family Canto, in Nobiliário de Famílias de Portugal of Manoel Joze da Costa Felgueiras Gayo'', https://familiacantomedievalnfpmjcfg-en.blogspot.com/, 2011
*{{Cite book |last=Knighton |first=Henricus |author-link=Henry Knighton |year=1995 |editor=Geoffrey Martin |editor-link=Geoffrey Martin (historian) |title=Knighton's Chronicle: 1337–1396 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-O0jrsAp0FMC |access-date=6 February 2017 |location=Oxford |publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Clarendon Press]] |orig-year=1652 |isbn=978-0-19-820503-6 }}

==External links==
* {{cite DNB |last=Lee |first=S. |wstitle=Chandos, John |volume=10 |pages=43–44 |authorlink=Sidney Lee }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120813064721/http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/muhlberger/froissart/chandos2.htm The Death of Chandos]
* {{citation |last=Cooper |date=2011 |first=Stephen |title=Sir John Chandos: The Perfect Knight |url=http://www.chivalryandwar.co.uk/resource/chandos.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726035437/http://www.chivalryandwar.co.uk/resource/chandos.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=12 September 2018 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandos, John}}
[[Category:1369 deaths]]
[[Category:14th-century English people]]
[[Category:Garter Knights appointed by Edward III]]
[[Category:Medieval English knights]]
[[Category:People of the Hundred Years' War]]
[[Category:People from South Derbyshire District]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Military strategists]]